Vegetable Curry and Birthday Cake

The Chef: Anna and Colleen

The Menu: Thai coconut curry with potatoes, carrots, red pepper, spinach, and fresh basil over Jasmine rice, followed by a vanilla bean cake filled with fresh strawberries and vanilla buttercream.

The Dish: We had a lot to celebrate today at VNHQ; both Office Manager Lyndsay and Editor-at-Large Laura turned one year older this week. For their birthday lunch, Associate Publisher Colleen made a seriously delicious green curry. It had the perfect amount of heat (spicy but didn't burn my mouth) and the fresh vegetables complemented the curry deliciously. And the cake? Well, I didn't have any, as both Managing Editor Elizabeth and I are currently on Kris Carr's 21-day cleanse (I know I know, I'm doing it again, but it's much better this time I swear!). Luckily, Elizabeth and I had the good sense to put our slices in the fridge for safekeeping. All cleanses have to end at some point.

Vegetable Curry and Salad

The Chef: Anna

The Menu: A spinach salad topped with carrot, sweet potato, and tomato; a delicious vegetable curry chock full of potatoes, cauliflower, tomato, broccoli, onion, eggplant, and green peas; and a smattering of brown rice

The Goods: Often when I look through cookbooks, I look for two things: 1. No animal products. 2. Four steps or fewer. Call me lazy, but what can I say? I like to keep things simple most of the time. This delicious veggie curry was a cinch to make (Cut vegetables. Put vegetables and spices in pot. Turn on burner.), and will last me all week long. Want some more one-pot meal ideas (along with casseroles, stews, and pasta dishes) that will get you through the week? Check out our new featurette, Cook Once all Week. Cooking at home: Pittance. Clicking the "Snooze" button two more times each morning: Priceless.